Mowgli's Pathfinder RPG Repository

Goliath

Goliaths are massive creatures unafraid of throwing their weight around in a fight. Highly competitive, these strong nomads can prove to be powerful allies and welcome additions to any adventuring party.

Personality:
Goliaths are known for their almost foolhardy daring. In their mountain homes, they leap from precipice to precipice, heedless of the fatal consequences of a misstep. They place great stock in clan and family; life in the mountains teaches even the youngest Goliath to rely completely on his fellows for a hand across a crevasse.

Because most Goliaths are hunter-gatherers, they tend to be inquisitive, always curious about whether better hunting lies over the next ridge or a good water source can be found in the next canyon.

Goliaths are completely unsympathetic toward tribe members who can’t contribute to the well-being of the tribe anymore – an attitude reinforced by social structures. Old, sick, and otherwise infirm Goliaths are exiled from their clans, never to return.

Physical Description:
A typical Goliath is larger than the largest half-orc. Most stand between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 280 and 340 pounds. Unlike with most other races, there is no appreciable difference in height or weight between male and female Goliaths.

Goliaths have gray skin, mottled with dark and light patches that Goliath shamans say hint at a particular Goliath’s fate. Lithoderms—coin-sized bone-and-skin growths as hard as pebbles—speckle their arms, shoulders, and torso. Their skulls have a jutting eyebrow ridge, wide jaw, and occasional lithoderms as well. Female Goliaths have dark hair on their heads, grown to great length and always kept braided. Male Goliaths generally have hair only on their limbs. Goliaths’ eyes are a brilliant blue or green, and they often seem to glow a little from underneath their furrowed brows.

Because their skin mottling has cultural significance, Goliaths generally dress as lightly as possible, displaying their skin patterns for all to see. For the same reason, few Goliaths would willingly get a tattoo – to draw on one’s skin is tantamount to trying to rewrite one’s fate. Goliaths instead decorate themselves with jewelry, often sporting ear, nose, or brow rings. A Goliath’s lithoderms are also common places to embed a gem or two, since they have few nerve endings and stand out on the Goliath’s body already.

Goliath Racial Traits

Ability Modifiers: +2 STR orCON, +2 CHA, -2 DEX: Goliaths are stout, but their bulk sometimes gets in the way when they’re trying to be nimble. Their easy-going acceptance of others and their self confidence make their personalities attractive and powerful.

Speed: Goliath base land speed is 30 feet.

Medium: As Medium creatures, Goliaths have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. However, see the powerful build ability description below for more details.

Monstrous Humanoid: As monstrous humanoids, Goliaths are proficient with all simple weapons, but they have no proficiency with any armor or shield.

Powerful Build: The physical stature of a Goliath lets him function in many ways as if he were one size category larger. Whenever a Goliath is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the Goliath is treated as one size larger. A Goliath is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A Goliath can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait do not stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.

Mountain Movement: Because Goliaths practically live on the ledges and cliffs of the most forbidding mountains, they are particularly adept at negotiating mountain hazards. Goliaths can make standing long jumps and high jumps as if they were running long jumps and high jumps. A Goliath can engage in accelerated climbing (climbing half his speed as a move action) without taking the –5 penalty on the Climb check.

Acclimated: Goliaths are automatically acclimated to life at high altitude. They don’t take the penalties for altitude described in the Mountain Travel section on page 430 of the Core Rulebook. Unlike other denizens of the mountains, Goliaths don’t lose their acclimation to high altitude even if they spend a long time at a lower elevation.

Sensitive: +2 bonus on Sense Motive checks: When speaking to one another, Goliaths tend to augment their verbal communication with subtle body language. They are likewise able to “read” the unintentional body language of others.